He went to the US because of a crime

In the British navy, Jones' career was flourishing, but in 1773, he was forced to leave this behind. Over a salary issue, he got into a fight with one of his seamen and killed him. He claimed that he was acting in self-defense, but because he didn't think he would get a fair trial, he made the decision to leave the country and travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia. He adopted the name John Paul Jones at this point.

In 1774, Jones escaped to Virginia because of fear that he would be accused of murder. He had a second opportunity to take leadership during the American Revolutionary War. First Lieutenant Jones was given command of the 18-gun sloop Ranger in 1777 after being appointed to that position in the Continental Navy in 1775.

During a voyage in 1778, Jones, who was based in France, took the twenty-gun HMS Drake and assaulted the port of Whitehaven in northern Britain. He assumed command of the forty-gun converted merchantman Bonhomme Richard the following year. He oversaw the American assault on a British merchant squadron that was being escorted by HMS Serapis in September. Despite suffering significant casualties, Jones' crew refused to surrender when the commander of the Serapis urged them to. He said, "I have not yet started to fight." The British captain gave up after a huge explosion on board the Serapis was caused by a grenade. Jones became the first naval hero in America as a result of the battle. It was to be his final deed. He was given command of the seventy-four-gun America upon his return to the United States as commander of the British sloop Ariel that had been seized. However, the ship wasn't completed until the war's end, at which point it was given to France as a gift.